Spring connecting means



y 1954 D. M. ROBINSON SPRING CONNECTING MEANS Filed Oct. 11, 1949 DAV/D MEOBZNGON Patented July 20, 1954 SPRING CONNECTING MEANS David M.-Rbinson, New Britain, Conn., assignor to The Stanley Works, New Britain, Conn, a corporation of. Connecticut Application-October 11, 1949, Serial No. 120,698

3 Claims.

The present invention relates .to spring attaching means and, moreparticularly, to a device for providing a connection tothe end of a spiral spring which can be quickly installed and which is designed for use when the spring is to be put under tension.

The invention has particular utility vin the overhead door art where counterbalancing ofithe door is accomplished by use of the spiral springs which are put under tension as. the door is moved to closed position. In such installations, it generally is the practice to anchorone end of the spring on the door frame while the other end. is secured to the door. Usually, it is necessaryor atleast desirable tohaveonerof the spring connections adjustable to vary the spring tension.

It is an object of the. present invention to provide a spring connection havingparticularadvantage for use in overheaddoor installations. Included within thisiobject is'the aimofproviding a connector of simple construction which can be installedor inserted with aminimum of effort, which will be economical to produce, which, despite its simplicity and ease of installation, will not be likelyto slip or become disengaged and which will be sufficiently rugged-to provide al1the strengthnecessary and to withstand hard usage.

Other objects will'be in part obvious and in part pointed out more in detailhereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts which will'be exemplified in the construction hereafter set 'forthand the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the appended claims.

In the drawing Figure lis a side view'of an overhead door installation in which the spring attaching means of the present invention is utilized;

Fig. 2is an enlarged, fragmentary viewpartially in cross section for showing details of construction of the spring connections;

Fig. 3 is a similar view of the upper attaching means turned 90 from the position shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a top view of the upper attaching means installed in the spring; and

Fig. 5 is a bottom view of the attaching means at the bottom end of the spring.

Referring to the drawings, thereis'shown in Fig. 1 a sufficient'illustration of an overhead door assembly to illustrate a use of the present invention, this assembly being substantially thesame as that; shown in my 'priorPatent No. 2,045,100

issued June 23, 1936. In the over head door construction disclosed in Fig. 1, the door [0 is supported for operation so that, when it is moved from vertical closed position (as shown in the drawings) to an overhead horizontal position, the upper end of the door moves rearwardly while the lower end swings forwardly and upwardly and then rearwardly. To efiect this movement, the door I0 is supported adjacent its lower end by" a pair of swinging arms II (shown one), there being one arm II at each side of the door. As the constructions at opposite sides of the door are similar, the arrangement at-only one side will be described,it being understood that a de scription of onewill apply to either.

The arm II is pivotally mounted at its upper end at l2 on the bracket l3 which is attached to the door jamb (not shown) in any suitable manner. Carried by the opposite end of the arm II is a fulcrum piece M which, in turn, is pivotally supported on the lower end of the door I0 by a U-shaped bracket I5.

The upper end of the door Ill is providedwith a roller bracket which carries a suitable roller 2| which rides in a horizontal track 22 mounted adjacent the top of the door opening and extending rearwardly therefrom. As will be apparent, when the door is opened, the upper end is carried rearwardly-on the track'22 by engagement of the roller 2| therewith while the lower end of the door is swung forwardly and upwardly at the end of thearm I I.

For the purpose of counterbalancing the door in order that it may be-raised with as littleeffort as possible and in-order'toprevent the door. from quickly dropping to closed position when it is re leased from overhead positioma tension spring is provided adjacent each arm ll, each sprin being interposed between the fulcrum piece l4. and the jamb bracket l3. The upper end of spring-30 .isanchored to the bracket 13 at a point above the vpivotlZ of the arm I! bylever 3|. As will be apparent, the springs ailwill become tensioned when the door is brought to a closed position. In general, in order toprovide a sufiicient counterbalancing force, particularly with very heavy doors; it is necessary to utilize very heavy springs. The-typeof spring illustrated is, of course, a conventional spiral type spring formed inany-suitable manner such as from tempered heavy steel wire.

The presentinvention is particularly directed tothe attaching means utilized for connecting the ends-or-the spring :to the fulcrum piece l4 and the bracket l3, respectively. This device is best shown in detail in Figs. 2-5.

Referring to Figs. 2-5, the connecting means of the present invention comprises essentially a plate 40 which is of a particular construction and configuration permitting it to be readily and easily assembled with the spring and affording an improved and superior connection to the spring, all as described hereafter. It will be noted that the plate 40 is of greater length than the outside diameter of the spiral spring, but its width, particularly at the center portion 4!, is smaller than the inside diameter of the spirai spring. The ends 42 and 43 are each slightly tapered as shown in Figs. 4 and 5.

The end portion 63 of plate as is arched or struck up to provide a channel-like seat id into which will be received a portion of one convolution of the spiral spring as illustrated particularly in Fig. 2 or" the drawings. I'he seat id is offset from the plane of the plate 4!] so that, when the seat Ml is engaged on a portion of one con volution of the spiral spring while the opposite end 42 extends between the portions of convolutions diametrically opposite therefrom, the center portion 45 remains substantially at right angles to the axis of the spring.

In the modification of the plate so utilized at the top of the spiral spring, as illustrated in greater detail in Figs. 3 and 4, the central portion 4| is sufficiently narrow to permit the plate iii to extend through a U-shaped bracket 58. As illustrated in the drawings, the bracket 5i) provided with aligned openings 5i by means of which the bracket is pivotally mounted on the lever 3! which, in turn, is connected to the bracket It. When assembled, the sides of the U- shaped bracket 56, by engaging the inner surfaces of the spring, effectively prevent sidewise displacement of the plate G63 and lock the attachment to the spring.

The insertion of the U-shaped bracket 5 and the plate it) into position in the spring is an exceedingly simple operation. It is necessary only to open the spring at the proper place, as, for example, by means of a simple pneumatic device with two wedge-shaped jaws (not shown), whereupon the bracket to may be inserted into the end of the spring and the plate 40 may be dropped through the opening in the spring made by the pneumatic device and within the bracket 59. When the spring is released, the connection provided by the bracket 58 and the plate 4B is completed and disengagement thereof, particularly when the device is placed under tension, is impossible.

In the modification of the plate All utilized on the lower portion of the spring 3, the plate.

40 is provided with a center hole 56 for receiving a threaded bushing 45. The threaded bushing 45 is adapted to receive an elongated threaded rod or bolt Gil, whose lower end is connected to the fulcrum piece 14. By turning the bolt or rod es, the plate so is moved toward or away from the fulcrum piece l4, whereby the tension on the spring as may be regulated.

' In the last described modification, the center portion M is made somewhat larger than in the first described modification so as to more closely fit within the inside of the spring. Since the seat 4 3 is offset from the plane of portion 4|, the latter is positioned so as to abut against the interior of the spring convolutions, which will prevent lateral displacement of the plate 46. As in thecase of the modification previously described, the insertion of the plate is exceedingly simple. As explained above, it is necessary only to separate the spring in the desired place, whereupon the plate 40 may be readily dropped into place and is locked in position when the spring is released.

It will be apparent that either modification of the plate as may be connected to the spring at any desired place, that is, between any two adjacent convolutions, as desired. Because no adjustment of the attaching means is required in situ nor any attaching or looking operation need be carried out, it is unnecessary to resort to extended and expensive hand operations in order to install the spring. The result is that the attachment and installation of spiral springs may be carried out in less time and at extremely low cost with a minimum of required skill and train- The attaching means is of simple design and may be rapidly fabricated in automatic operations. Despite the simplicity of the device, a foolproof connection is obtained which provides all of the required attributes of adjustability, ruggedness, and strength to insure satisfactory service over long periods of operation.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the language used in the following claims is intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

I claim as my invention:

1. A connector spring assembly comprising a spiral spring, a steel plate of greater length than the outer diameter of the spiral spring and having a center portion of lesser Width than the inner diameter of the spring, one end only of the plate having a substantially semicircular offset arch to form a transverse bearing surface spaced from the plane of said center portion, said plate being disposed between convolutions of the spring to seat said bearing surface on a portion of one of the convolutions and with the opposite end of the plate extending outwardly beyond the opposite portion of the said one convolution, thereby placing the center portion of the plate substantially perpendicular to the axis of the spring within the convolution for preventing side slip, said central portion of the plate being provided with a threaded opening, and a threaded member engaging in said opening and extending outwardly in substantial alignment with the axis of the spring.

2. A connector spring assembly comprising a spiral spring, a steel plate of greater length than the outer diameter of the spiral spring and having a center portion of lesser width than the inner diameter of the spring, one end only of the plate having a substantially semicircular ofiset arch to form a transverse bearing surface spaced from the plane of said center portion, said plate being disposed between convolutions of the spring to seat said bearing surface on a portion of one of the convolutions and with the opposite end of the plate extending outwardly beyond the opposite portion of the said one convolution, thereby placing the center portion of the plate within the convolutions substantially perpendicular to the axis of the spring, and a generally U shaped bracket adapted to be inserted axially into the spring for receiving the said center portion of the plate.

3. A spring connector assembly comprising a spiral spring, a steel plate including a substantially fiat central portion, a substantially flat one end portion and a substantially semicircular offset other end portion forming a transverse bearing surface spaced from the plane of said central and one end portions, said plate being disposed between convolutions of the spring to seat said bearing surface on a portion of one of the convolutions and with the opposite end of the plate extending outwardly beyond the opposite portion of the said one convolution, thereby placing the center portion of the plate substantially perpendicular to the axis of the spring within the con- 6 volution for preventing side slip, and fastening means carried by said centra1 portion by which the assembly may be anchored to a selected object.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 326,721 Crandall Sept. 22, 1885 841,227 Chellis Jan. 15, 1907 1,588,471 Bezkorowajnyj June 15, 1926 1,664,647 Sundstrand Apr. 3, 1928 1,966,957 Dunn July 17, 1934 2,265,629 Christiansen Dec. 9, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 311,468 Germany Mar. 22, 1919 

